Mr Lucy's Date
by Maid Mairin
Summary: Lucy needs to find a date for an important party, and ASAP. Mira finds out, and hosts a male beauty pageant to see who the lucky fella will be. The pageant includes a modeling portion, a who knows Lucy best portion, a themed costume portion and later, a talent portion. Find out who will win the contest, and later, Lucy's heart! Will it be NaLu, LoLu, or any other combination?
1. Chapter 1:Introductions

**Mr. Lucy's Date**

_Chapter 1: Introductions_

_A/N: Italics is thinking._

Lucy leaned back and stared up at the guild's ceiling, letting out an enormous groan of frustration. She had a party in the evening to attend, but it required a date, which she had yet to achieve. Usually Lucy doesn't like parties, but this party was a semi-formal party thrown by the guild Love & Lucky. She felt nearly obligated to attend, as her late parents were members of this merchant guild. Plus, Lucy felt compelled to go as she owed her name to the guild. (Lucky, after the K fell off the sign.)

One thing Lucy would enjoy about this party, though, would be that she'd finally be able to dress up, at least somewhat fancy. She loved picking out outfits and it'd be nice to use one of her more fancier dresses. _But, Lucy, wait! You don't even have a date yet, don't get too excited… _she thought to herself. Continuing to argue back and forth in her mind about dates and outfits and such, she didn't notice someone was trying to talk to her.

"Luce? Are you okay?" Natsu asked, cocking his head in concern. The comment snapped Lucy back into reality. Natsu continued speaking, "I heard you make a loud frustrated noise. What's up?" Realizing she couldn't hide this from him, Natsu knew her too well, she sighed and gave up. Lucy explained her predicament to her pink-haired best friend.

"What? That's it? You've gotta be kidding! You're worked up over not having a date?" Natsu exclaimed loudly, an arm on his stomach, unable to contain his laughter. Lucy frowned and looked away, knowing everyone heard what he said. _Soon,_ Lucy thought, _I'll be surrounded by everyone, asking questions. Oh God, what if Mira heard…_

Just as she thought, Mira was the first to pop up, appearing in front of the date-less young woman. Mira had a huge grin on her face, not to make fun of Lucy, but because she's Matchmaker! If anyone could find Lucy a date, Mira would be it. Soon after Mira showed up, Erza, Wendy, Gray, Levy, and Juvia presented themselves.

Levy, Erza, and Juvia all had a smirk on their faces, finding it somewhat funny Lucy, out of all people, couldn't find a date to a simple party. Wendy and Gray just looked neutral, but still curious what this whole commotion was about. Mira still had her loopy grin on her face, while Natsu was calming down after his laughing fit.

Then, the questions started.

Natsu. "Why can't you find a boyfriend?"

Gray."Why are you going to a party at a merchant guild?"

Levy. "When's the party?"

Wendy. "What are you wearing?! Eeee!"

Juvia. "You will not be taking Gray-sama, Juvia forbids it."

Erza. "I can be your date."

Lucy smiled at Erza's offer, but politely declined as she was preferring a male date. Then, she started answering questions. "Natsu, I don't know. Gray, the guild has meaning to me. Levy, tonight, 8 o'clock. Wendy, I'm wearing a dark orange skin tight dress, that ends a little above my knees; the dress has diagonal ruffles, and it's only one shouldered, being diagonal as well. Of course, Juvia." Juvia sighed, relieved.

Mira continued to smile at everyone, concocting a devilish plan in her head. Suddenly, Mira clapped her hands giddily. Everyone turned their heads to her, curious what she was so happy about.

"Lucy! I have a solution to your no-date problem!" Mira squealed. Lucy felt a tad frightened at how intense Mira was. She was also scared what the solution Mira came up with was. "It's easy! I'll pick your date!" Lucy shivered at that solution, _who would Mira come up with? And how? What if he's ugly and a pervert?!_

Erza cleared her throat and asked the question hovering on the tip of everyone's tongue. "How will you decide, Mirajane?" Mira replied quickly, "Oh, that's easy! I'm hosting a beauty pageant, but for guys!" Mira rubbed her hands together evilly. "First, there will be a modeling contest, then, a who-knows-Lucy-the-best contest, and then finally, a themed costume contest! There will be 5 judges, to ensure no ties. 3 girls and 2 guys would be perfect."

Everyone stared at Mira, and then looked around at each other. Everyone's expression was different. Levy and Wendy looked excited; Cana had a knowing smirk on her face; Erza was in her own mind; and Natsu, Gray, and pretty much any other guy, had a confused look on their face. Loke, who had overheard Mira's planned, was the first to recover. He stepped up to the hostess, and was the first to volunteer to be a contestant.

"Well that was quick! Thank you Loke!" Mira exclaimed, and then turned her attention to the rest of Fairy Tail. By now, everyone knew what was happening. Looking around the guild, Mira asked for more contestants. Surprisingly, the second contestant to volunteer was Gray. Then, annoyed that Gray might win something, Natsu immediately joined afterward.

Gray smiled to himself, knowing that Natsu would do that. It's not that Gray didn't really like Lucy, but everyone knew that Natsu had a crush on her, and was too stupid to know it. _So, hopefully,_ Gray thought, _this will knock some sense into the dense flame brain._

As everyone's attention was off Lucy, and on Mira and the volunteering men, she girl in question blushed a dark shade of red. _Why are they volunteering? Do they realize they have to be my __**date**__? _Lucy thought to herself. She honestly didn't know why they were volunteering, but the fact that three guys already had made Lucy's stomach fill with butterflies. She then turned her attention back to the center of the room.

"Anyone else?" Mira asked, sternly glaring at Laxus. The glare did not go unnoticed, and the lightning dragon slayer huffed and stood up, volunteering. The Thunder God Tribe was utterly speechless, except for Evergreen. She couldn't control her laughter at Laxus volunteering after a simple glance from Mira. Freed and Bixlow then recovered, looked at each other, shrugged, and also volunteered.

Mira squealed with how many guys wanted to be Lucy's date! Six! "If no one else is going to volunteer, let me introduce the audience to the Lucy's Date Pageant contestants!" With a magic puff of fog, the bar had turned into a stage, complete with lights, a microphone, and curtains. The six men and Mira were on stage. She then began introducing the contestants, one by one.

"First up, is Bixlow! How much does he know about Lucy, and is he determined to win?!" Bixlow stuck his tongue out, getting into the moment. He flexed and winked at Lucy.

"Next, the green haired rune mage, Freed! Who knew he liked girls? Then again, Lucy is one-of-a-kind!" Freed huffed and glared at Mira, who implied he was gay. He didn't even deny it, and instead announced he was only volunteering because Laxus had. Out in the audience, Lucy laughed, having already known this.

"Oooh, I think it's getting a bit chilly! It must be the ice mage, Gray! Will he win Lucy's heart, or go home broken-hearted?" Gray also flexed, but had his eyes on Juvia, who was giggling. She knew Gray only joined to make Natsu volunteer. What no one else knew, though, was that Gray and Juvia were already a couple. Juvia smiled to herself, knowing he was hers and she was his.

"Oh my! I just got a shock! Literally, Laxus, you jerk, that stung. Give it up to Laxus, maybe Lucy can soften his heart!" Laxus just stood there, looking bored with his arms crossed. Lucy's smile faltered a little, and surprisingly Laxus saw it. _God damn it, _he thought, _I at least have to make her happy, even as a friend._ Thus, Laxus formed a smile, and blew a kiss to Lucy. At the end of the line, Natsu growled, staring at Laxus. No one noticed. Except for, of course, Mira.

"Let's not forget the first to volunteer, Loke! I'm sure he will be a strong contestant, being Lucy's spirit, caring for her quite a bit! Everybody, let's have a round of applause for Loke!" As Fairy Tail clapped for him, (mostly the girls), he stood there with a giant smirk on his face. _This is gonna be a cinch, _he thought to himself. _I'd be worried about Natsu, but everyone knows he's too stupid to realize he likes her. So I guess I'll get her first!_

"And last, but definitely not least, Natsu Dragneel! Natsu, being Lucy's best friend, must surely know everything about her! But will he win this contest for her heart?" The pink haired dragon slayer sauntered up to the front of the stage, and let out a long roar of fire, and announced that he would not lose. While he said this, he glared at Loke and Laxus, knowing they were the ones he had to keep an eye on.

"Well! I guess that's all of them! Wait, what? Erza! You're not a guy! Get off the stage!" Erza had jumped onto the stage, and bowed for the audience, demanding to be a contestant. "Lucy deserves better than all these losers! I shall be her date!" Erza nearly yelled, pointing her finger at Lucy. Everyone knew better than to go against Erza's will, so Mira just sighed. "And, at a last minute volunteer, everyone clap for Erza!"

After the clapping had subsided, Mira announced that the modeling portion would be happening in 10 minutes. She shooed all the guys, and Erza, away, telling them to go get ready. As they left the stage, Mira bowed and also took her leave, joining Lucy and her friends at a table. She had yet to decide the judges, so she asked for some guidance.

"Mira! I would love to be a judge! Please please!" Levy puppy eyed at the hostess, convincing her, since she was Lucy's best friend that she HAD to be a judge! Mira agreed, and then looked over at Cana. Being close to Lucy as well, Cana became a judge. "Now, I just need one more female judge, and two male judges. I shall ask master to be one of them, and that leaves one male judge." Mira thought aloud.

Just then, Gajeel showed up out of nowhere, wrapping his arm around Levy. This caused her to blush. Suddenly, she came up with a great idea! "Gajeel, why don't you be the other male judge? I'm a judge too, let's be judges together!" Levy asked with an innocent face. Gajeel couldn't resist that, and accepted.

Now, Mira only needed one more female. She decided on Wendy, thinking that the contest would need some innocence and cuteness to it. Mira went around gathering the judges, sitting them down at the judge table. The table had magically appeared, seated facing towards the stage. The judges sat down, Levy being the furthest on the left, and Cana the furthest on the right. Gajeel was squished between Levy and Wendy, nearly suffocating in all this blue hair. Next to Wendy sat the master, who at the moment was trying to steal some of Cana's beer.

Soon after Master Makarov consumed some beer, the lights went down, and a spotlight appeared on stage, illuminating Mira, who was now in a pretty flowing blue dress. Mira spoke into the microphone, "welcome back ladies and gentleman! I hope you didn't wait too long, because now it's time for *squeal* the modeling portion! Of course, the order will be alphabetical, just like the introductions. But before we start, please get some drinks and popcorn, and we'll be back after a few short messages from our sponsors!"

End of Chapter 1: Introductions.

(A/N: If you were wondering, the commercials would be for Yajima's restaurant, the magic council, the upcoming Grand Magic Games, and a new model of the car ran by magic from a person's body.)

I changed talent portion to costume portion - I have some ideas for the talent part.


	2. Chapter 2: Model Portion

**Mr. Lucy's Date**

_Chapter 2: Model Portion_

_A/N: Italics is thinking._

"Welcome back, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the commercials, but now onto the real entertainment: our hot contestants, modeling!" Mira spoke, gaining loud yelps, squeals, and gasps. She smiled, enjoying everyone's reaction. First up, like introductions, is Bixlow!"

Bixlow stepped out from behind the curtains, and strode towards the center of the stage. His arms were hooked behind his head, showing off his muscles. Of course, he had his shirt off, and surprisingly his mask. His blue hair stood up in different directions, giving it the after-sex look. This appealed to many of the Fairy Tail girls, as Bixlow got loud whoops and hollers. He gave the crowd a wide smirk, with some devilish intentions behind it. As he reached the center, he flexed his abs, earning some girly squeals. At the end, he stuck his tongue out, as the crowd erupted into cheers. He randomly looked into the crowd to find Lucy. She was smiling, with her elbow on the table, her hand supporting her chin. Bixlow gave her a friendly wave, and got a return wave.

While Bixlow was modeling, Natsu and Loke were seething. How dare he get so many cheers?! Natsu was especially pissed, because he was staring at Lucy, not Bixlow. She seemed to be enjoying his modeling, smiling and laughing freely. Natsu decided he would beat him, he'd beat everyone! Lucy was his partner, he'd be her date! He imagined him winning a trophy and there would be confetti and everything! He'd hold Lucy bridal style and carry her off to the party! Natsu felt proud of himself for the decision, (and the imagined win), but was snapped out of his imagination with Mira's voice.

"Wow! I didn't know Bixlow was so hot! We have some competition already! Give it up for Bixlow!" Mira strode back into the center of the stage, holding Bixlow's hand above his head. They waited for the judges' decisions.

After a few quiet seconds, Levy started it off, holding a sign with a '7' on it, and the audience clapped in agreement. This caused Gajeel to growl, realizing she liked Bixlow's modeling as well. It was his turn to judge, and held up a sign with a '3' on it, earning loud booes. Wendy held up a 6, as well did Makarov. Cana held up a 9, and winked at Bixlow. The wink said it all, and Bixlow laughed and flexed, just for her.

"Alright you two, remember this is for Lucy!" Mira complained, ushering Bixlow off the stage. Quickly, she moved onto the next candidate - Freed. As she introduced Freed, the audience clapped half-heartedly when they saw he wasn't very enthusiastic. Freed just walked onto the stage in his normal clothes and just stood there. Laxus had trouble stifling a laugh, and felt a glare on him. It was Freed. "Come on Freed! You can do better than that! At least make this competition interesting, all right? I don't want to win too easily, you know!" Laxus cheered Freed on, still laughing on the inside.

Instantly, Freed ripped his clothing on, and the whole guild gasped. He was in his boxers! Freed smirked, admiring the silence he got from the crowd. He then looked over at Laxus, his jaw nearly on the floor. Again, Freed smirked and then giggled a girly giggle. The feminine sound Freed made brought the crowd back into reality, and they were even louder than they were for Bixlow! _That's for you, Laxus. _Freed thought sinfully, _I hope you liked it…_

Freed walked back off the stage, throwing his hair behind him. He didn't even bother with the judges. He didn't care if he won or not, he wanted to be noticed by Laxus, and Laxus only. But if only Freed had stayed, he would've noticed he got straight 8's from the judges. So far, he was in the lead.

"Well, that was… interesting! I'm not sure if I totally enjoyed that or not, but he sure got good reviews! Anyway, for the next contestant! He's perfect for this portion, I'm sure you all know who it is… Gray Fullbuster, come on out here!" the hostess announced. As he was only doing this to help Natsu's feelings along, he decided he would go all out. He slowly stepped towards the center, stripping his clothes off, mesmerizing everyone. Since when did he get so sensual at stripping? was the only thought on anyone's mind, except Juvia. She enjoyed the show, of course, already knowing how good Gray was at stripping.

Once Gray stopped, all he had on was a pair of boxers that didn't really, uh, hide much. He could've been wearing a leaf, jeez. Continuing his facade, he flexed everywhere, continually blowing kisses and winking at Lucy. Gray smirked to himself when he heard one of Natsu's pissed off growls. He turned his attention to the judges, eagerly awaiting their responses. Levy: 7. Gajeel: 1, you pervert. Wendy: sorry, no score. her eyes were being covered by Lucy. Makarov: 9. Cana: 7. Gray was pretty proud of the scores, so he walked off the stage happily as the crowd was murmuring about his performance.

"Alright, um, next contestant. Laxus, go." Mira said without much enthusiasm, still being a little shocked at Gray's modeling skills. Laxus made a grand entrance, appearing suddenly with a bolt of lightning. He had taken his fur lined coat off, revealing a nice toned body. Lucy didn't notice what poses he did, she was too busy blushing at how unexpectedly good he looked…

Natsu noticed this. Mira noticed Natsu noticed.

"Alright, give it up for Laxus! Judges, your turn!" Levy: 9. Gajeel: 4, and hissed at Levy: he's not even that hot! Wendy: 7. Makarov, 11; yeeeeaaaaHHH LAXUS! (Makarov is obviously quite drunk by now, from drinking with Cana) Cana: 9, and winked at him too, she loved her some yummy guys.

Before Mira could announce him, Loke suddenly appeared on stage. Being the charmer he was, he was still fully clothed. Instead, he did his famous pose, his right arm up, while his left hand twisted the ring on his right hand. The crowd cheered, and even a couple of the girls fainted. Loke was satisfied, and then looked around to find Lucy. She was turned to someone else, eagerly talking, not even looking at Loke. _Well, that's unfortunate. I know she cares about me, but I guess not the way I care about her. _Loke sighed to himself, before deciding that he would still continue the contest.

Unexpectedly, Loke left the stage, without looking at his scores. Little did he know, right after he left, Lucy looked up and frowned when she noticed he was gone. Loke's scores went quickly, straight 8's like Freed. Lucy eagerly waited for the next contestant - Natsu. She loved him, but she really wasn't sure in what way. All she knew is she wanted to be around him. After Mira introduced him, he strolled to the front of the stage, and what Lucy saw made her gasp.

He was topless, and had a pair of dark red shorts, with lines of orange zigzagging throughout the fabric. Though, he kept his scarf on, which made Lucy smile. Natsu kept his eyes on Lucy, drinking up her every facial expression. Her gasp, it was so soft, he wanted to pick her up and take her home. _Wait, what? Natsu, get a hold of yourself, that's Lucy! You don't have feelings for her, do you? _he thought to himself.

After the gasp, he noticed Lucy's warm smile. He could only guess she was smiling at the fact he kept his scarf from Igneel on. Then, surprisingly, he saw her checking him out. This skyrocketed his confidence and posed for her, and her only. He puffed out his chest, stood up straighter, doing everything he could to look better. Taking a bold step, he winked directly at Lucy, and she gasped again and hid her face. Anyone remotely close to her could see her face was bright red. She had been caught checking out Natsu!

Natsu's intense stare at Lucy had blocked all sound from penetrating his ears. It was only after Lucy pointed to Mira that he actually came back to reality. Apparently, he had been standing there after his turn had ended. His scores ended up being straight 9's, except a 5 from Gajeel, who was grinning from ear to ear evilly, and a 10 from Cana. _I'll have to beat the crap out of Gajeel later, _Natsu thought, taking a mental note.

Thinking about beating up Gajeel had taken up more time of him being on stage. All of a sudden, Natsu found himself colliding with the wall. He wondered what had happened, but after noticing Erza, he knew. "Come on everybody! Let's give it up for Erza! Will she be a strong candidate, despite being a woman?" Mira said, teasing the red-haired mage. Erza ignored the taunts, and sauntered out in front of the crowd, in a skimpy cat costume, winning some loud hollers from the male parts of the guild. Erza pretended to meow, and then pet herself, faking a loud purring sound. A few guys got a little… too hot. They had to leave the room to cool themselves down. Erza prided herself in her sex appeal, knowing men were weak creatures when it came to beauty. _Precisely why,_ Erza thought, _that I want to be Lucy's date, not some perverted idiot. _

It took a long time to calm the crowd, but when they finally quieted down, Erza was rewarded with straight 9s. She smiled, proud of herself. She turned to face the exit, flipped her hair, and walked off, swaying her hips to add even more appeal.

"Now, give me a couple minutes! I have to tally up the scores, and I will let you know soon who is in the lead! Sit tight everybody!" Mira announced, before walking over to the judges' table with a calculator.

After Mira had calculated the averages, she stepped back onto stage. "Alright everybody! I now have the scores, are you ready?! I am! So, I'm gonna start off with the lowest score, going to the highest. in 5th place, with an average score of 4.8, Gray Fullbuster!" Mira waited until claps subsided, and even some laughter. "Next, in 4th place - Bixlow, with an average of 6.2. In a 3 way tie for 3rd place, Loke, Laxus, & Freed with an average score of 8!" Mira became very irritated, as it took forever to announce because of the applause. "Everybody shut up and wait to clap at the end, alright?! Anyway, in 2nd place, Natsu Dragneel with an impressive score of 8.4! And, not surprisingly, the winner of the model portion is! Drum roll please!" Mira requested, as the guild supplied drumming noises with their hands or anything they could find.

"The winner is…. Erza! With a high score of 9! Alright everybody, clap your hearts out now!" Mira cheered, her hands in the air as she clapped and hollered with everyone else. Gray, Bixlow, and Freed were clapping politely. Laxus had a stupid grin on his face, as Erza had beaten every guy. He found this immensely funny. Loke and Natsu were pissed, plain old PISSED. They lost to a girl! A girl, who wasn't even supposed to be in the competition, a GIRL, who might be Lucy's date, and not them! Erza quickly noticed Loke and Natsu's aura, and swiftly hit them several times, hearing them apologize. Erza wasn't surprised though, Natsu did like Lucy a lot. Everyone knew that.

"Calm down now, everybody! That sure was exciting, but I think this next part will be even more exciting… Who knows Lucy best? I will ask 10 questions for everyone, and however many the person gets right, that is their score. But, I need to come up with the questions first! 20 minute break everyone! Don't be late."

End of Chapter 2: Model Portion

(A/N: this might be easier):

Gray's average: 4.8

Bixlow's average: 6.2

Loke's average: 8

Freed's average: 8

Laxus' average: 8

Natsu's average: 8.4

Erza's average: 9

Also, if anyone has any ideas for Lucy's question, please say so.

Talent portion is changed to themed costume contest.


	3. Chapter 3: Who Knows Lucy?

**Mr. Lucy's Date**

_Chapter 3: Who Knows Lucy?_

_(A/N: Italics is thinking)_

"Alright everybody! Time's up!" Mira announced, making her way back to the stage. "I can only hope everyone's back on time!" The hostess looked around, taking a mental check list. Lucy, check. Bixlow, Freed, Laxus, check. Levy, Wendy, Cana, check. Gajeel and Master, check. Erza, check. Gray and Laxus, check. Natsu, ch- _wait, that dumbass isn't here! I specifically said to be back on time, FOR A REASON, _Mira ranted to herself.

During Mira's self-rant, the guild door's were slammed open, revealing a disheveled Natsu. "Sorry everybody!" Natsu apologized, scratching the back of his head, "I went to get something to eat, and, um, got lost. Sorry!" No one was surprised, and after Erza quickly punched Natsu to make up for lost time, Mira continued the pageant.

"Now, Fairy Tail, it's time for the second competition! Who knows Lucy the best? I know, I know, Levy would totally win this, but she's a judge, sorry!" Mira turned towards the competitors, and explained the rules. "This portion is quite simple. I will ask 10 questions about Lucy. Everyone gives an answer for each question, and I will announce what the answer was, and who was correct. One correct answer is a point, so however many answers you get right automatically is your score out of 10."

Natsu grinned face to face, _this is going to be sooo easy! I'm the only one who knows anything about Lucy. None of these guys pay attention to her! _Natsu smirked, giving everyone an arrogant glance, before remembering Erza is also competing. _Damn it. She listens carefully, and I get so distracted! Ugh! I wish I wasn't so distrac- where did Happy get that fish?_

As Natsu was rambling on in his mind, Mira had started the game. "Time to start. Ready? First question. Where is Lucy's guild mark located? You have 10 seconds, and then I will hear everyone's answers."

Bixlow: Uh, lower back?

Freed: Stomach.

Gray: Front of her left hand.

Laxus: On her body somewhere.

Loke: Back of her right hand.

Natsu: Back of her right hand.

Erza: Back of her right hand.

"The correct answer was - on the back of her right hand! One point to Loke, Natsu, and Erza. Half a point to Gray, for being very very close. I will announce scores every 3 rounds! So pay attention!" Mira reported, before starting the next round. "Question two. What **color** is her guild mark?"

Bixlow: Purple.

Freed: Green.

Gray: Pink.

Laxus: Blue.

Loke: Blue.

Natsu: Pink.

Erza: Pink.

"The correct answer was, pink! One point to Gray, Erza and Natsu! Let's hurry along, for a score update after round 3. Question 3, what color are her eyes?"

Bixlow: Blue

Freed: Green

Gray: Brown

Laxus: Brown

Loke: Brown

Natsu: Deep, dreamy brown eyes. Wait! No! Just brown eyes!

At this point, everyone was giggling at Natsu's embarrassment. "At least you remembered it, Natsu!" Lucy called out comfortingly, smiling.

Erza: Brown, like Natsu said.

"Correct answer - brown! Many people got this one! One point to Gray, Laxus, Loke, Erza, and I'm gonna give Natsu 2, for being so cute!" Mira squealed. The other contestants groaned, annoyed that Natsu got a free point. "Alright, the first score update! Everybody ready? In order of least to most, these are the standings:

Bixlow: 0

Freed: 0

Laxus: 1

Loke: 2

Gray: 2.5

Erza: 3

Natsu: 4

Wow, Natsu's in the lead everybody! Give him a round of applause!" Mira marveled, a big smile on her face. She was glad that Natsu x Lucy was becoming more real as time passed. The entire time, she had her eyes set on Natsu winning, so why not help him out a bit? Mira giggled to herself, _this will be so easy! Lucy's gonna fall head over heels for him - if not already!_

"Now, now, guys. Enough noise! Time for Question 4! This should be real easy for you, Loke. How many keys in total does Lucy have?"

Bixlow: 13.

Freed: 12.

Gray: 16.

Laxus: 14.

Loke: 15.

Natsu: 15, furrowing his eyebrows and taking a total shot in the dark.

Erza: 15, coping Loke sneakily.

"As you could guess, Loke has the right answer! 15 keys in total! One point to Loke, Natsu, and Erza! Question 5, what is Lucy's favorite food?"

Bixlow: Ice cream.

Freed: Pizza.

Gray: Ice - cream.

Laxus: Uh, I don't know. Yogurt?

Loke: Bento.

Natsu: YOGURT! I KNEW THIS ONE! SHE LOVES YOGURT! Natsu screamed, beaming that he actually knew one.

Erza. Yogurt, again, coping Natsu. She had an advantage of being last.

"Well… I think everyone knows the answer now, Natsu. The correct answer is, yep, yogurt. One point for Natsu, Laxus, and Erza. Last question before another score update! Question 6, what are Lucy's top two favorite colors?"

Bixlow: Pink and blue.

Freed: Green and green.

Gray: Gray and pink, sniggering to himself at the joke he made.

Laxus: Yellow and pink.

Loke: Blue and pink.

Natsu: Pink and… light pink?

Erza: Pink and blue.

"Isn't this suspenseful! Much harder than the other questions, you had to have **two **answers! Let's see who got this right. Bixlow, Loke, and Erza earn a point with the correct answer of pink and blue! And now, after some tasteful waiting, the current scores!

Freed: 0

Bixlow: 1

Laxus: 2

Gray: 2.5

Loke: 4

Erza: 6

Natsu: 6

Wow, ladies and gentleman, this competition sure is heating up. A tie with Erza and Natsu?! How crazy! Loke's right behind them, two points behind. But don't worry everyone! You can still catch up! Do your best! Time for round 7! Ready? Question 7, who, so far, is the only one to read Lucy's novel?"

Bixlow: Levy.

Freed: Levy.

Gray: Levy.

Laxus: Levy.

Loke: Levy.

Natsu: Uh, Levy?

Erza: Levy.

"This is quite a surprise! Everyone got it correct! Levy is, yes, the only one to read Lucy's novel! Round of applause for our contestants - and Levy!" Mira congratulated, everyone's eyes on Levy as she blushes a deep red color. Gajeel, next to Levy, who had his eyes fixed on her, immediately noticed her blush. _Wow, she's kinda cute when she blushes… _Gajeel thought to himself, before dismissing the thought. _We're just friends - I tease her, that's all! _

"Next round everyone! Question 8, what are her parents names? This might be a hard one, but hopefully you men (and Erza) paid attention to Lucy!"

Bixlow: Jade and Lilly.

Freed: Jude and Layla.

Gray: Judith and Layla.

Laxus: Dunno. Pass.

Loke: Jude and Lilly.

Natsu: Layla and Jude!

Erza: Jude and Layla, obviously.

"Nice job, guys! The correct answer is Jude and Layla, but I will give a half a point to a contestant who got one name right, but not both! One point to Freed, Gray, Natsu, and Erza. Half a point to Loke." Mira quickly looked at her watch, realizing it's getting later in the day - it was 1pm. _The party was at 8pm and everybody still had to get ready! And it takes an hour to get there! AND I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN LUCY'S DATE! _Mira shrieked in her mind. She shushed the crowd and began hosting again. "Let's get along now! Question 9, What guild is hosting the party Lucy is attending tonight?"

Bixlow: Love & Lucky.

Freed: Love & Lucky.

Gray: Love & Lucky.

Laxus: Uh. Some merchant guild, I dunno.

Loke: Love & Lucky.

Natsu: Ah! She told me but I forgot! Uh, uh, Lamia Scale?

Erza: Love & Lucky.

"Very good! 5 contestants got this question correct - the answer was Love & Lucky! One point for Bixlow, Freed, Gray, Loke and Erza." Mira announced, before looking at a disappointed Natsu. She knew he was beating himself up for not knowing. Mira curled her mouth into an evil smile and said, "and, one point to Natsu because he has a cute disappointed face!"

The contestants (and some of the crowd) made loud protests, but that didn't defer Mira from helping Natsu to win. In the middle of the guild, she could see Lucy with a bright smile on her face. _Everyone knows Natsu and Lucy are supposed to be together - except for each other! _Mira thought, as she noticed Lucy's blush when Natsu had glanced over to her with a cheeky grin.

"Come on now, everyone calm down. I'm the hostess, I can do whatever I want! In fact, I'm gonna skip the scoreboard for Round 9, and have it at the end, after Round 10! So there!" Mira stuck her tongue out, forcing everyone to wait even longer. This elicited loud groans from everyone. Half the people wanted to know the scores, and half wanted this stupid game to be over already.

"SHUT UP! Okay. Round 10 - Question 10. One point for each correct answer. Name as many of Lucy's well-known nicknames as possible. In total, there are 7 nicknames, so if you get every single one you will get a huge boost on your points. This is everyone's chance to catch up! Let's start!"

Bixlow: I know the one I gave her - the cosplay queen. Another one is Lu-chan. That's all I know.

Freed: Blondie and princess.

Gray: Princess, bunny girl, blondie, and Lu-chan.

Laxus: Princess, blondie, beauty, and bunny girl.

Loke: Princess/Hime, blondie, and Lu-chan.

Natsu: Luigi, blondie, princess, bunny girl, Luce, and Lu-chan.

Erza: Princess, bunny girl, Luce, and Lu-chan.

"Wow, I didn't know the contestants would know that many nicknames! Nice job everyone! The 7 correct nicknames are as follows: Blondie, Princess/Hime, Luce, Lu-chan, Luigi, Bunny Girl, and The Cosplay Queen! For round 10, Bixlow and Freed earned 2 points. Laxus earned 3 points (beauty is not one of her nicknames - though it should be!). Loke also earned 3 points. Gray and Erza both achieved 4 points, and guess who won round 10. Natsu! With a high score of 6 points! Woo! Nice job Natsu! Now, I have to add all the points up for a grand total. I will be back in a few minutes with the scores!"

"Alright! I'm back! Again, I will start with lowest score to highest, for portion 2! By the way, at the very end of portion 3, I will be adding up portion 1, 2, and 3's point for a GRAND grand total! Let's get going! For portion 2, Who Knows Lucy?

5th: Bixlow: 5

4th: Freed: 6

4th: Laxus: 6

3rd: Gray: 9.5

3rd: Loke: 9.5

2nd: Erza: 13

And .. the winner of portion 2, is Natsu Dragneel with a score of 15 points! Alright!

1st: Natsu: 15"

Natsu jumped up and down in joy - he won! (at least portion 2). He jumped to the center of the stage and let out a big roar of fire, accidentally catching the curtains on fire. The audience was half cheering, half taken aback at the sudden fire in the guild. However, the fire was quickly put out with some fancy work from Juvia. But, the fire didn't matter to Natsu. All he wanted was to see Lucy's face. And he did! He was so happy to see her face! Lucy's smile was one of the biggest, brightest, warmest smiles he's ever seen OR felt. Natsu was proud to be her best friend, and proud to (hopefully) be her date.

While Natsu was congratulating himself, Mira had announced that the pageant would resume in an hour, at 2:30pm. She explained that this hour gave everyone a time for intermission, to get snacks, drinks, chitchat or whatever. Mira also explained that the hour for the contestants would be taken up on deciding their themed costumes and how to model it.

Soon after the announcement, everyone dispersed. Natsu, Erza, and the other contestants went reluctantly behind stage, getting ready for their themed costume portion. They wanted to spend time with Lucy! However, Natsu, Erza, and Loke exchanged glares and this sparked determination in them, as they rushed off into separate places to practice. Each with the same thought in their mind: I will win.

End of Chapter 3: Who Knows Lucy?

I changed talent portion to themed costume - you will understand later.


	4. Chapter 4: Intermission

**Mr. Lucy's Date**

_Chapter 4: Intermission_

_(A/N: Italics is thinking._

_Credit to Pooglelover for many helpful plot ideas)_

After the contestants had nearly stomped off the stage, Mira turned her attention to Lucy. Lucy immediately looked up with a bright smile on her face.

"Mira! I can't believe you're even doing this. Not that I don't like it, but… it's still amazing! Thank you!" Lucy babbled before a thought came to her head. "Hey, Mira? Who do you think - or want - to win?"

The question took Mira aback, she didn't think Lucy would be so straightforward. "Well, Lucy, to be honest it could be anyone. Honestly, at this point, it could sway between Erza and Natsu. However, Loke can still catch up, and Gray can too if he magically has a miracle. But, you know who I want to win?" Mira questioned Lucy with a sly smile on her face, before answering her own question before Lucy could respond. "I want Natsu to win."

Mira's opinion got some cheers from people around her, specifically at the table they were sitting at. Of those who cheered were of the obvious, who already knew Natsu and Lucy liked each other. These people included Levy, Gajeel, Lily, Wendy, Carla, and really, anyone else who was remotely their friend.

"See, Lucy? I'm not the only one. I don't know if you've noticed, but Natsu seems to get real possessive when someone else is trying to hit on you. If that doesn't mean he likes you then I don't know what would. And, let's not forget - you blush, quite frequently when under his glance."

Right on cue, Lucy blushed with that sentence. Mira smiled kindly and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder, reassuring the blushing girl. "You really need to wake up and smell the flowers. The pink hair Natsu smelling flowers. He likes you, you like him. Everyone already knows this, except for you two. Seriously."

"Yeah, hurry up!" Levy and Gajeel chimed in, before looking at each other - they had said the same thing! Quickly, they looked away from each other, both blushing. _Now, I need to work on those two. But not until this situation with Natsu and Lucy is finished, _Mira chuckled to herself.

"Speaking of hurrying up… is this thing even close to being done? I need time to go home and get ready. I need to leave no later than 7 and I really want to get there early," Lucy complained to Mira. Right before she could respond, Warren called out to Lucy.

"Hey, Lucy! You have a call on the communication lacrima. They say it's a message from Love & Lucky. You want it?" Warren asked, pondering what they could want.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take it." Lucy quickly responded, picking up the lacrima from Warren and placing it in front of her. The man on the lacrima was one of the guild's higher up merchants. She could tell he was important - he looked rich, she had a gut feeling. Probably because she lived pretty much her whole life being rich.

"Lucy Heartfilia?" the man in the lacrima requested.

"Yes, that is me."

"Love & Lucky has an important message for you, the party will be postponed until tomorrow, at 7pm instead. Will you be able to make it?" the man asked the girl. Lucy nodded and the man began to scribble on some paper. "Mmm-mhmm, thank you, Lucy. This is very helpful information. We need to know how many people are actually attending. I don't want to have to spend money on a ton of food if no one is going to be there to eat it."

"I completely understand. Thank you for telling me in advance. I will see you at the party," Lucy politely said to the lacrima.

"Of course. It was a pleasure meeting you, Lucy. I hope to see more of you. Goodbye."

Click.

"Well, that is very nice to know!" Mira interjected, ripping Lucy from her thoughts. "Now I can make the competition even longer! Plus, you have time to get a different outfit, depending on what guy you get as your date," Mira squealed happily. Lucy rolled her eyes, she doubted she would go that far just for one date.

"Hmmm, how many portions should I add?" Mira pondered out loud, which perked Levy's ears up.

"Mira, what do you mean add?" Levy asked, in a state of confusion. She thought there was only 3.

"Lucy just got a message saying the party's postponed until tomorrow. More time for the pageant! EEEE!" Levy understood immediately. She put on an annoyed face, having to spend more time as a judge, but secretly it made her happy. Levy would be able to spend more time sitting next to Gajeel - _who smelled soooo good - _she thought to herself before shooing the thought away.

Lucy, being her best friend, had always noticed when Levy liked someone. Right now, she was head over heels for Gajeel. Lucy caught Levy blushing a bunch of times because of Gajeel, and once or twice, Gajeel because of her. She smiled to herself, and decided she would take action to make another happy couple. _Jeez, I'm just like Mira… well, at least I'm making someone happy, _she giggled to herself.

"Levy! Since it's postponed till tomorrow, why don't you come with me?! We can try on different outfits and get all prettied up!" Lucy coaxed Levy into accepting. At first, she had a smile that told Lucy everything - she wanted to go. But all of a sudden, her smile fell.

"But, wait, don't you have to have a date to get into the party?" Levy sniffled, looking sad. Lucy knew she would ask this. She threw her arms around Gajeel's neck and gave him a noogie.

"That's why this guy is gonna take you! Double date, yeah?" Lucy nearly demanded. Just as expected, Levy's eyes lit up, and her bright smile was right back on her face. She knew Gajeel still had to accept, and she was hoping… just hoping…

"Of course I'll take her. Wouldn't mind seeing shrimp all dressed up just for me," Gajeel laughed, winking at the girls. Levy gasped and immediately felt her face flush, which he thought was unbearably cute. "In fact, why don't we leave now - I'm tired of judging. Do you want to get something to eat?" he asked boldly, desperately hoping she wouldn't deny. He never ever showed someone his feelings as open as this...

"Y-y-yes, I would love to!" Levy jumped out of her seat and walked over to Gajeel's side. "Uh, sorry, Lu-chan, Mira, I, um, I gott-gotta go!" she stammered before being led out the guild's doors.

Both Lucy (and Mira who had witnessed the whole thing) were smiling to themselves. The couples were finally coming together. _Who knew it would be Lucy as the matchmaker to get Levy & Gajeel together, _Mira thought to herself, almost jealous. But not really. She was happy for everyone. _Except, now, I have to find some new judges, oh well...I also have to decide on more portions, since I have more time!_

"Hey everyone! Lucy's party is postponed until tomorrow. That means, I'm gonna add another portion! A talent show! Woo! The talent show part will be after the themed costume part. Also, Levy and Gajeel just left so I'm gonna need another guy and girl judge." Mira explained, looking around. "Evergreen, Elfman, you will be the new judges. Got it?" The two individuals nodded their heads and looked at each other, smiling that they were both judges.

"Themed costume starts in 25 minutes, everyone!" Mira quickly announced.

End of Chapter 4: Intermission


	5. Chapter 5: Themed Costumes

**Mr. Lucy's Date**

_Chapter 5: Themed Costumes_

_(A/N: Italics is thinking._

_Credit to Pooglelover for many helpful plot ideas in this chapter as well)_

"It's 2:30. Listen close, time is up, everyone! Please calm down and take a seat while I ready the contestants." The audience listened to Mira and sat down quietly, while rustling could be heard. Mira came back out onto the stage and announced, "alright! It's time to get this show on the road! A reminder, this is the themed costume portion. For those who didn't hear earlier, Lucy's party is postponed until tomorrow. Therefore, I added a talent show as well. Anyway, let's start! First up, you know him! Bixlow!"

The audience had a fury of emotions. First, they all gasped in shock. Second, they were all confused. And third, their laughed could almost be heard throughout Magnolia. Bixlow had strode onto the stage in a skimpy female maid outfit. The thing is, Bixlow was enjoying it. He had a giant smile on his face, and everyone knew he was just doing it for fun, now. He twirled in a circle, he curtseyed, and did everything girly he could possibly do, getting a few playful whistles from the crowd.

Soon, the audience quieted down in order to hear the judge's scores. Evergreen, replacing Levy, held up a 9, mostly because he was a part of the Thunder God Tribe. Elfman held up a 6. Wendy and Makarov also followed suit with a 6. Cana held up an 8, before rolling her eyes and snorting at Bixlow. He made his way back as Mira was introducing Freed.

Freed lazily walked out, yawning and stretching. He was wearing pajamas. Not any pajamas, a full body onesie pajamas… Again, this earned laughs and gasps. Who knew the Thunder God Tribe was so weird? "Hurry up and judge me, I'm sleepy." Freed complained. All the judges held up a 7. Freed smiled and quickly left as quickly as he came.

"Well, that was quick. Hopefully, this next contestant can make this contest even more interesting… Next up! Gray!"

Gray walked out normally. The crowd was confused. Gray looked the same, was he even wearing a costume? "Uh, Gray, what's your costume?" Mira asked, as confused as the audience.

"I'm Grey. See, look, my nametag." Gray pointed to the cheap name tag stuck to his jacket. He especially point out that the name had an E, not an A. So technically he was a different person.

"Uh… Give it up for Grey with an E! Certainly creative, Gray. What do the judges think?" Mira looked towards the judge table, as Evergreen held up a 3.

"I don't get it. Sorry." Evergreen apologized.

Elfman held up a 10 - he thought it was hysterical. Wendy also picked up on the joke and gave a 7. Makarov and Cana were too drunk to get it, so they just held up a random number. Master held up a 5, and Cana, a 6.

"Jeez everyone! Can we get at least one normal costume? Laxus. Help us out." Mira pleaded, as Laxus came out - in a normal costume! Laxus was dressed, not surprisingly, as Flash. {for those who don't know who that is - he is a superhero that goes really fast. plus, he has a lightning bolt on his superhero outfit} The crowd whooped and hollered as Flash suited him perfectly. Laxus even made a hot Flash - the outfit was skin tight, showing off his muscles. He flexed some more, and got a few squeals, much to his delight.

"Alright judges! Do your worst!" Laxus said with confidence. Evergreen gave him a 10, for obvious reasons. Elfman, ticked that Evergreen gave him a 10, held up a 4 and huffed. Wendy was delighted by Laxus' costume and gave him an 8. Makarov, Laxus being his grandson, gave him a 10. And for Cana? She held up a zero. "WHAT?!" Laxus screeched at her. Cana just smirked evilly at Laxus, knowing exactly how to piss him off. Plus, she enjoyed teasing him so much - he was hot, but he didn't need to know that. Laxus stormed off the stage, and a crashing sound was heard behind stage.

"I think we should just forget about that, yeah? Loke, please get our minds off that!" Mira smiled at Loke, introducing him to the crowd. Loke was appropriately dressed in a very intricate lion costume. The entire audience screamed, his outfit was so perfect! Not only that, but he was drool-worthy right now. Lucy smiled up at Loke, glad he picked the Lion as his costume. She knew he was Leo, leader of the Zodiacs. She was proud to have him as one of her spirits. Lucy waved once they made eye contact. He pretended to roar, but cutely, like rawr. She smiled again and clapped with the rest of the audience. Not surprisingly, he got straight 9's. _Just what I needed to catch up. I can still do this, Lucy, wait for me…_ Loke thought longingly, looking dazed as he walked off stage.

"Wow, now he sure looked good! I think everyone's been waiting for this contestant, though… Please welcome Natsu!" Mira smiled, looking back as he walked onto the stage. The smile didn't last long, it turned into a confused face - with a tinge of fright.

Natsu… He was… he was a dragon? Natsu slowly made his way to the center of the stage, each and every step taken with care. He was mad. Pissed off. Furious. Angry. Frustrated that Loke got such good scores - that Lucy smiled at him! Even though it was a costume, his intense stare, his ferocity, and his aura in general, told the audience otherwise. Natsu _**is a god damn dragon. **_

Lucy gasped and this drew his attention to her. This brought Natsu out of his angry state. He paused before smiling at her. Gently. Natsu had this powerful aura, radiating strength, but when he looked at Lucy, that didn't matter. She brought the good out in him. _She brings the good out in me. I don't know why I've never noticed that before. Do I love her? _

Natsu just stared at Lucy as he thought about all the good memories and good times he's had with her. He knew he loved her, but in a romantic way he wasn't sure. He thought about how pretty she looked when she was asleep, or how she took care of him when he was sick. She did everything she possibly could for him. And vice versa. Natsu had saved Lucy several times, from falling out the window, from Phantom Lord, pretty much from everyone. Natsu even uprooted a cherry blossom tree, just for Lucy to see. He came back to reality and looked into Lucy's eyes. He could see fear in her eyes - but, the fear was overcome by something else. _Care, I think. Or love? Love… Yeah. I love her. I'm sure of it. I'm not gonna hide it anymore, but first, I have to win this stupid competition. _

Putting on a nice show, Natsu went back to his normal self and breathed fire into the guild, enhancing his look as a dragon. It was a beautiful sight if you knew he wasn't dangerous. She knew. She caught a wistful glance from Natsu as he left the stage, before hearing his scores. It was an unanimous 9. Just like Loke. Natsu overheard this and gritted his teeth. He tied with that bastard…

However his attention quickly changed as Erza was announced. He had to admit, she looked pretty damn good. Heard throughout the guild were murmurs and gasps at how… good… she looked. There wasn't another word to describe it. Just. Good. Erza had her long red hair down, wavy without being frizzy. She had a gold headband on her head, perfectly matching the rest of her outfit. She was Wonder Woman. No one even said she dressed up as Wonder Woman. She _**was Wonder Woman. **_It suit her well, and the judges immediately all gave her 10s. Erza looked up with a smile and quickly curtseyed before swiftly getting off the stage.

_Man, this outfit hurts. It's crushing my boobs. Ugh. _Erza thought to herself as she quickly left to take off the Wonder Woman outfit. However, she was quite content with the scores she got, as well as the reactions.

"Wow. I don't know what to say but wow. That was a great ending to a great contest. I don't even need to count to tell who won. But I will, anyway, from last to first. Please hold on a second." Mira asked nicely before doing calculations.

"Okay. I'm gonna go from last place to first, for just this portion. In 5th place with 6.2 points, Gray Fullbuster! Just above him, in 4th place, is Laxus with 6.4 points. Tied for third is Bixlow and Freed, both with 7 points. Another tie, this being for second place, is Loke and Natsu with 9 points. And the undisputed winner… Erza Scarlet with a perfect score of 10!"

Lucy clapped politely, but earnestly hoped Erza wouldn't win… Lucy finally realized she wants Natsu as her date. _Too late to say anything now, _she sighed to herself. Little did she know, Natsu was also hoping Erza wouldn't win - as he wanted to be Lucy's date. _Stupid me… all of this could've been avoided if I just knew sooner! Damn it! I really am as dense as they say I am… _Natsu groaned.

"That's the end of the themed costume portion! Don't forget, I have added an extra portion! A talent show portion! Now, since I don't have to worry about time, I will give the contestants an hour and a half to prepare and practice their talent. The pageant resumes in 4:30pm. Your talents better be damn good or I might just kick you out!" Mira said with a playful smile. "Everyone else, take a rest. You can even nap if you want, just, everyone be back in time!" Mira jumped off the stage, signaling the end of the pageant for the moment.

End of Chapter 5: Themed Costumes

(A/N: Talent portion is coming up next, no need to worry about an intermission chapter)


	6. Chapter 6: Talent Portion

**Mr. Lucy's Date**

_Chapter 6: Talent Portion_

_This chapter is when things start coming together_

_(A/N: Italics is thinking)_

45 minutes had passed when, backstage, all that could be heard was yelling. Yelling, or crashing of some sort. Natsu was in a fit of rage, he had no idea what he would do for the talent part. He was pretty sure everyone knew what they were doing - he had spied on most of them, they were practicing. Gray was ice sculpting, Loke was practicing ballroom dancing with Virgo, Laxus was making fireworks with his lightning, and, funnily enough, Bixlow was practicing ventriloquism with his babies. That was pretty much the only time Natsu smiled. He spied on Freed, which really wasn't all that necessary - he was just napping. Still in his themed costume pajamas, too. Natsu smiled then as well. _Less people to worry about, the better, _he smirked to himself.

But what was Erza doing?

Once Natsu found the room she was practicing in, he was dumbfounded on how talented she actually was. She was doing a mix of ballet dancing with modern dance. It was beautiful, much to Natsu's disappointment. _Damn it, I can't compare to that…_ he whined to himself, before noticing there was a guy with blue hair wandering around. He looked like a lost puppy - _wait! A lost puppy that looks exactly like Jellal… _Natsu soon came up with a plan.

"Hey, Jellal. What's up, you looking for Erza?" Natsu called, jogging up to him. Jellal jumped, surprised he had been noticed. He scratched the back of his head and tried not to look at Natsu with his cheeks a tint of dark red.

"Um, yeah, I was. But it's okay, I don't…" he trailed off, hoping he wasn't acting too weird. Natsu grabbed him by the wrist and quickly ran back to Erza's door. Before opening it, Natsu had to tell Jellal his plan. He told Jellal what had happened up until that point - Lucy needs a date, the pageant, Erza's a big competitor, he wants to be Lucy's date, and Erza's dancing beautifully.

"So, I need you to go in there and distract her. I'm sure you can do it with hardly any effort," Natsu smirked, before opening the door and roughly shoving Jellal into Erza's room. Luck was on Natsu's side. He wasn't planning it, but he had pushed hard enough that Jellal had knocked Erza over and was now on top of her. Erza was speechless, her face dark red as well, and that's all Natsu needed to see before sauntering off with confidence.

Natsu looked at the time, he only had a half hour left to decide what the hell his talent was. He cursed silently to himself, the spying had given him no inspiration. He sighed. He decided he would have to put down his pride and go ask Mira (or Lucy) what he should do. Mumbling to himself, he went out to the guild hall, noticing Lucy and Mira together. They looked up, surprised to see him. Lucy immediately blushed, which caused Natsu to blush as well.

"Mira. I, uh, can I, uh, ask you something?" He whispered anxiously, hoping only those two heard him. He was blushing profusely now. Mira nodded, confused. What could he need to ask her? "Um, I don't k-k-know what to do for my ta-ta-talent." Natsu said quickly, stumbling over his words. His blush had grown impossibly red. Lucy had also giggled, making him feel even more embarrassed.

"Of course. I have an idea, but you have to promise me that you will mean it." Mira glanced at him sternly. He nodded furiously, accepting any possible talent he could pull off. "Sorry, Lucy, but you can't hear this, it'd ruin the surprise!" Mira explained before making Natsu bend down so she could whisper in his ears.

Natsu's eyes widened until they couldn't widen anymore. "That's a talent?!" He said, unbelieving.

"It will be, if you do it right. Please. Think about it before deciding if you'll actually do that. If you want, I can make it so you'll be last."

"Y-yeah, that sounds good. Being last would definitely help. Mira, I-I think I can. I'm ready. T-t-thank you, I really hope I am as g-good as you think I will be." Natsu sputtered as he tried to wrap his head around the idea Mira gave him. But, he knew he would do it. _It's a way to finally, finally, show some real love for Lucy, _Mira's words echoed in his mind. He smiled, and, politely bowed, causing Lucy to bellow a loud laugh.

"Since when do you bow?! Or do anything remotely gentlemanly?!" Lucy exclaimed with uncontrollable laughter. Natsu just smiled, and hugged Lucy before running off. Lucy was interested to see what he would be doing for the talent. _I guess I'll just have to wait, _she murmured.

Soon, the half hour had passed, and the talent show was scheduled to start. As requested, the guild was back on time - mostly because they wanted to see what idiotic talents the contestants had.

Mira looked unusually bright as she welcomed everyone back and hurriedly went to start the talent show portion. Everyone was suspicious, she knew something they didn't. "Okay okay let's start! Bixlow get your butt out here and hurry up!" Mira declared before he quickly got on stage.

Bixlow brought a wooden chair with him, sat down in it and faced towards the crowd. His babies followed suit. Without moving his mouth, the babies talked for him. "Hey, we're Bixlow's"

"Babies,"

"And we do,"

"Ventriloquism!"

"Hope you,"

"Enjoy!"

Everyone laughed at how they knew what to say without Bixlow speaking. So technically it was ventriloquism, if you looked at that way. Each baby could only say a few words before the talking switched to another baby - making it somewhat confusing. But the act was pretty good, there were some good jokes, many people laughed and Bixlow felt proud of what he did. Or, what his babies did, more precisely.

After the act was over, the judges quickly gave their score after a stern glance from Mira told them to hurry it up. Elfman both held up 8s, Wendy held up a 10 - she was mesmerized! Makarov both held up 6s.

Mira quickly introduced the next act, who happened to be Freed. She waited a little bit, but he never came out. She called louder and was met with an annoyed Freed's voice, "HEY! I'm sleeping here! Can't you shut up?! I pass, I pass, give me zero points, I don't care, I'm sleepy!"

0 points from all the judges, though Wendy gave him a 2 because she thought it was funny.

The hostess moved on, introducing Gray as the famous ice mage. She knew he would do something with ice, and she was right. Gray came out and told everyone to stand back, his hands made confusing and intricate movements, but he seemed to know what he was doing. All of a sudden, he stopped, calmly saying, "ice make: sculpture."

The crowd was severely impressed at how detailed his sculpture was. He made a miniature version of the guild, nothing was forgotten. It was beautiful. Then, Gray made a second one. This time, it was Juvia. She gasped as she realized it was her… _Was he going to do it? Is he going to make us public? _she wondered, blushing to herself.

"Yo. Listen up, Fairy Tail. You too, Mira. I'm dropping out of the contest. I love Lucy, but as a friend. I joined to make idiot flamebrain over there join. But now I think he's finally realized by himself. So this is my time to tell you the truth. Juvia and I… we're dating." Gray squeaked out, blushing at Juvia. The guild was overcome with emotions and sounds. Squeals, gasps, laughs, wails, and anything else you can think of. Lucy was smiling. She had known all along. She reminded herself to thank Gray later, for making Natsu join.

Mira squealed as she clapped her hands together - everyone was becoming a couple! She was so happy, everything was finally coming together. "A round of applause for our happy couple!" The guild erupted in cheers and congratulations. Natsu smiled to himself. He was actually glad Gray had found someone - mostly because that means he doesn't have Lucy, but also because - though they'd never admit it - they were quite close friends.

After a little bit, the crowd calmed down and Mira returned to the talent show. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but next up is… Loke! Let's see what you can do!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened, but a bright light erupted and standing there was Loke. Oh, and Virgo. Loke was dressed in a nice jacket with slacks, and Virgo was in a light blue dress, that swished a lot. _It was funny,_ Lucy thought, _that Virgo is actually wearing something besides her maid outfit. _

And then, the crowd was mesmerized. The two began to dance. Not just any dance, but a gorgeous, flowing, prince charming and princess ballroom dancing. It was beautiful to watch, like they were actually royalty. The couple was actually very good at dancing. They kept a nice pace, gentle movements, and they were timed with the music. It couldn't have gone any better. Once the music ended and Loke and Virgo struck a pose, the guild cheered and cried and really anything they could do. Lucy was proud of her spirits and stood up and clapped for them. As did the judges, who rewarded Loke with straight 10s.

Soon, the commotion had calmed down and Loke bowed and took his leave. He smiled sadly to himself, somehow predicting that Lucy would never be his. But, Loke would do his best to make sure whoever she dated made DAMN SURE they treated her like a princess. During this time, Erza had been announced and also started dancing. It wasn't as amazing as Loke's, but it was marvelous to watch.

Erza had combined ballet and modern dance to form a completely unique dance routine. She had changed her Robe of Yuen outfit a little bit, to suit the dance more. It almost felt like her dance was more martial arts than anything. But none-the-less, still beautiful, and still earned her claps. She also was rewarded, like Loke, with a straight number, hers being 9. Erza smiled as she walked off the stage, thinking she had the contest in the bag.

Everyone returned their attention back to Mira. She had waited patiently for everyone to become quiet, and she had a serious look on her face. "Before you ask questions, Natsu and I decided he would be going last. His talent has never been seen before. Most likely, you won't even understand it. So, I have one request. Sit down and shut the hell up." Mira's eyes flashed dark, before returning to a happy smile. "Natsu, come on out. You can do this, okay?"

Natsu looked up at Mira sheepishly. The audience was in a daze - since when is Natsu anxious? He took his spot in the middle of the stage, with nothing but himself. He took a deep breath and started his "talent."

"Luce, I know I'm not strong, or creative, handsome, or talented in anything except fighting or - I'm getting off the subject, sorry. I'm not talented, but I still hope you like my attempt. This is a talent for you and for you only. I'm a collector. I collect memories. Specifically, memories of you, Luce."

Again, the crowd gasped. Was Natsu actually doing this? Did he finally realize he loved her? Already, some of the females were tearing up. Specifically, Wendy, and Levy, who had just returned from lunch with Gajeel. Natsu smiled at them and continued carefully, keeping his eyes focused on Lucy.

"Do you remember that day you found my house? You were so excited to have found it, you were hoping to pay me and Happy back from when we get into your apartment through your window." Natsu smiled at the memory. Lucy smiled as well. "You thought you were gonna be sitting in a nice outfit, in the middle of my house, just like I did, I mean, do, to you. You walked around, disgusted at how dirty it was. You noticed my board of memories. With you.

The quest we did together for the first time… That fake salamander signature I got, remember, from the guy who tried to charm you? A souvenir from Galuna Island… And my favorite. Your maid outfit. I know it's probably weird to keep it, but when I'm at my house, you're still there with me.

It was so funny, I remember you telling me that you ended up cleaning my house instead. That you waited for me to come back to surprise me. That you found me in your apartment instead. That, in my sleep, I had said 'Lucy… come home already.' "

Natsu took another deep breathe, channeling all his courage. He looked to Mira for support, and she nodded comfortingly. Then, he looked to Lucy. Thankfully he saw only happiness on her face.

"Luce. Do you know why I go to your apartment so much?" Natsu looked directly at her, and she shook her head slightly. "It's because, wherever you are - that's my home. My talent… is… is…" He took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm saying this… My talent is loving you." His mouth curved into a small smile, hoping he didn't freak her out. He looked for her in the crowd. She was there, smiling. But something was off. Were those… tears? "No! Shit! Luce I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry."

Lucy waved her hands like it was no big deal. She took a couple seconds to compose herself. "Natsu, these are happy tears. Please don't apologize, that was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. And it came from you," Lucy said, slightly giggling. Natsu sighed, extremely relieved.

"Natsu. I'm sorry it has to be so public this way, but I'm glad you finally told me. I just recently realized that I - I love you, too." She blushed, looking up at him. All he could do was laugh and jump into the crowd, enveloping her into a giant bear hug. Lucy was tearing up some more, _I can't believe he did this, it must've taken him so much courage, _Lucy thought to herself before nuzzling into his chest.

Their happy moment was interrupted from an "ahem" from Mira. "Natsu, come back here. You haven't gotten your scores yet." He sheepishly left Lucy's side and got back on stage, looking at the judges. All he did was laugh. He got straight 20s.

"I didn't even know that was possible." Natsu said, still laughing. "So, did I win?"

"Actually, yes you did, Natsu. But I'm sure even if you didn't, Lucy still would've chose you," Mira confessed, with a nod from Lucy confirming it.

Laxus raised his hand politely, "you skipped me."

Mira ignored him, instead announcing Natsu as the winner.

"EVERYONE, PLEASE WELCOME YOUR WINNER - THE NEW MR. LUCY'S DATE - NATSU DRAGNEEL!" Mira declared loudly, and the crowd was deafening. So many people were happy for them. The entire guild knew they were for each other and it was about damn time they got together. All Lucy and Natsu could do was smile.

By then, it was getting late. Lucy started to head home to her apartment. Not surprisingly, Natsu and Happy were already there. "What's for dinner Luce?" Natsu asked lazily, spread out on her bed.

Lucy just laughed and shook her head. "We're ordering pizza. I'm tired. Plus, we still have the party tomorrow. We're going to have to find you something nice to wear…" Lucy mumbled to herself, remembering how hard it would be to make Natsu look nice - and wear it long enough. Lucy just sighed and fell on the bed with Natsu. Without realizing it, they were soon both asleep, with Lucy's head resting on Natsu's chest, his fingers in her hair.

End of Chapter 6: Talent Portion

(I will still be writing chapters, mostly about the party. I have some more couples I want to put together still."


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